Oil sands truck body

ABSTRACT

A truck body that efficiently hauls homogeneous and cohesive materials that typically coagulate and adhere together in one consolidated mass. The adhesion of this consolidated mass to the surface of the truck body is minimized and the build up of “carryback” is effectively prevented during haul cycles. Hauled amalgamated materials are dumped from the truck body such that the amalgamation breaks up and is safely dumped. One typical material that displays such a coagulated conglomerate massing is “oil sands” from which oil is extracted. The body design encourages the material to break up as it is dumped by using outwardly tapered walls and a non-linear edge from which the loaded material falls.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 13/397,657, filed Feb. 15, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No.8,690,259, and is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.13/397,663, filed Feb. 15, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,651,580, eachof which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/443,158, filed Feb. 15, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/560,901, filed Nov. 17, 2011, which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a container for hauling materials that have atendency to coagulate and adhere together in a semi solid mass as wellas cling to the container hauling them. The invention more particularlyrelates to containers that are truck bodies and specifically truckbodies that pivot to dump their loads. The invention is particularlysuccessful hauling and dumping materials such as oil sands and clay typeoverburden materials or cover material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today, off-highway trucks are used to mine many minerals for furtherrefining and clay type overburden or cover materials. The mining ofvarious types of materials is relatively straightforward, although thecomplexity of the mining is increased by 1) the natural cohesivecharacteristics of many materials, 2) the amount of material beingmined/hauled and 3) the environmental conditions under which it ismined.

In their natural state, many mined materials are extremely sticky andthese mined materials naturally freely cling to each other. For example,the composition of oil sands, oil sands overburden and oil sands covermaterial is, by its very nature, extremely oil and sticky. The specificcomposition of oil sands is: 1) a grain of sand, 2) surrounded by orencapsulated by moisture/water, and 3) oil which encapsulates andsurrounds both the grain of sand and the water. The surrounding oil ofeach grain causes the oil sands to cling to each other and surfaces theoil sands contact. The sticky nature of certain materials, such as oilsands, The sticky nature of certain materials, such as oil sands, canresult in a buildup of material on the truck body surfaces, etc. thatcontact such materials. For example, walking around on some materialswill quickly result in the soles of a person's shoes building up withlayers of material that can easily buildup to 8 to 10 mm thick.

This same sort of buildup happens in truck bodies. A common conditionthat occurs during the use of truck bodies is the buildup of“carryback.” As successive loads are hauled, sticky hauled materialbegins to incrementally buildup in the interior of the body with eachload until the body retains a significant amount of material betweensuccessive loads. Experience has shown that initial load carrybackbegins in those areas of a truck body where intersecting walls of atruck body meet.

This build up of material or “carryback” is significant for very stickymaterials. The characteristics of materials which stick together andcoagulate are exacerbated as material in its natural state is disturbedby the mining process. With these sorts of materials, the buildup ofcarryback happens quickly and is significant. This significant carrybackreduces the effective capacity of the truck body and reduces theefficiency of the truck and the overall mining operation.

Mine loading shovels weigh in at 1450 to 1800 tons and off-highwaytrucks weigh in at 550 to 600 tons. As loading shovel buckets dig intothe materials being mined and load or “drop” 100 tons at a time ofmaterial into off-highway truck bodies, the materials are furthercompressed in the off-highway truck body. Also, as material is hauled inan off-highway truck body the material is further compacted asoff-highway trucks navigate the mine haul roads to their destination,vibrating the load, causing settling of the load in the off-highwaytruck body. By the time an off-highway truck reaches its destination, insome cases the shaking and resulting settling of the hauled load resultsin the hauled materials amalgamating into almost a solid packed mass.

The circumstances of mining and hauling, in combination with thecohesive coagulating characteristics of some hauled materials, canresult in the hauled materials dumping from the truck body as a solidmass or “loaf.” As loads of material “loafs” exit truck bodies, thetruck chassis itself is subjected to extreme ‘jolts,’ resulting insevere truck driver discomfort. Drivers of trucks hauling materialswhich “loaf” are often exposed to extreme ‘whole body vibration’ asloads of “loafs” are dumped.

The average individual is unlikely to appreciate the impact that theproblems associated with mining and hauling cohesive materials has, asmost individuals are unaware of the amount of cohesive materials thatare being mined. Considering only the example of oil sands, the shearamount of this material being mined today is almost beyond comprehensionfor the average individual. Today, about every two (2) tons of oil sandsmined produces about one (1) barrel of oil. Current production of oilfrom surface mining operations in the Northern Alberta Region of Canada,alone, is about 750,000 barrels of oil a day, which translates to thedaily mining of one and a half million tons of oil-producing oil sands.This number does not include any oil sands overburden or cover materialsthat must also be mined to expose the oil sands.

By comparison, the Hoover Dam spanning the Colorado River required3,250,000 cu. yards (2.6 million cu. m.) of concrete, which has beencompared to the amount of concrete in a 16-ft. wide (4.9 m) highwaybetween Pensacola, Fla., and Seattle, Wash. Putting this intoperspective, enough oil bearing sands material is mined/hauled today torecreate a new Hoover Dam about every four days. Mining oils sands is amassive endeavor.

The environmental conditions for mining oil sands are extremelychallenging. Today, the bulk of oil sands mining occurs in NorthernAlberta, Canada. In this region of the world, temperatures in the wintermonths can get very cold, approaching minus 40 degrees Celsius (about−40° Fahrenheit). But in the summer months, temperatures often exceed 35degrees Celsius (+95° Fahrenheit), resulting in the oils sands having asemi-fluid, sticky and goby consistency. Although the oil sands are veryoily in composition, as they are mined, they tend to re-solidify in atruck body to a very firm single mass (“loaf”), which invariably maytend to stick to the inner surface of the truck body. In either climate,though, as loads of oil sands material are dumped from a truck body, anoils sands ‘loaf’ is created. And, yet a clean release of the materialfrom the inner surface of a truck body can be problematic. Transportingoil sands material is virtually unknown outside the localized mining ofoil sands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus toefficiently and effectively haul, in a truck body, cohesive materials,whether the material is being mined for later processing or isoverburden or covering materials. Through the use of certain materialsfor constructing the truck body in combination with the truck bodydesign, a truck body is created that both alleviates the problem ofcohesive materials sticking to the truck body and facilitates thebreaking down of the material “mass” or “loaf” as it is dumped from thetruck body. Embodiments of the invention are particularly suited for usewith oil sands.

A hydrophobic and/or oleophobic material, selectively placed on theinterior surfaces of the truck body, combined with body sidewallsreceding from the center of the truck body and a body floor linereceding from the center of the body floor to the sides of the bodyfloor minimizes the sticking in the truck body of hauled materials andoverburden or cover materials. This truck body constructionsignificantly improves the natural material flow from the truck body asit is pivoted to a dump position. Material flows away from the cornersand sidewalls of the truck body where “carryback” normally begins. Thus,there is no buildup of a residue of material to create “carryback.” Tothis end, hydrophobic and/or oleophobic material lines the interior ofthe body at strategic locations. The body sidewalls are outwardlytapered from front to back at relatively severe angles to help breakdown the load loaf as it is dumped from the body.

In an embodiment of the truck body, the body sidewalls are narrower atthe front of the truck body and substantially wider at the rear of thetruck body. In fact the body sidewalls at the rear of the truck body maybe 10 to 20 percent wider than the body sidewalls at the front of thetruck body. At the rear of a truck body constructed in accordance withone embodiment, the sidewalls are 12 to 15 percent wider than at thefront of the truck body. These outwardly tapering truck body sidewallscomplemented by hydrophobic/oleophobic, material bridging the bodysidewalls, body front wall and body floor insure the non-stick flowingof material out of a truck body when the truck body is in its dumpposition.

In one embodiment, steel plates coated with a non-stick, hydrophobicand/or oleophobic material bridge the body intersecting planes, wheretypical material “carryback” historically begins to accumulate. Thematerial releasing properties of this non-stick material combined withthe tapering body sidewalls receding from the load as it flows from thebody insure minimal load material retention.

The outward tapering body sidewalls cause the sides of the hauled loadto lose support from the sidewalls as the load is dumped from the body,which encourages the hauled material load to slough off and break downas it is dumped.

In a further embodiment, the truck body floor can be severely rakedforwards towards the outsides of the body floor, which in combinationwith outwardly tapering truck body sidewalls, facilitates a coagulatedmaterial “loaf” mass release and the breaking down of the coagulatedmaterial “loaf” as it is dumped. In conventional truck bodies, the endof the floor at the back of the body is squared off with respect to thesidewalls. By angling or raking forward the edge of the floor from acenter point to the sidewalls, as material is dumped the materialnearest the sidewalls is free of the floor before the material towardthe center clears the floor, which causes the material closest to thesidewalls to fall away before neighboring material located closer to thecenter of the floor. These dynamics result in the loafingcharacteristics of the hauled material loaf breaking down as the truckbody is dumped.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in moredetail below, with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevated side view of a truck body including a non-sticksurface bridging an intersection between the body floor, body front walland body sidewall;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the truck body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a section of the truck body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a section of the truck body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of another truck body and illustratesanother non-stick surface bridging an intersection between the bodyfloor and body front wall;

FIG. 6 shows all of the non-stick surfaces of the truck body of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a truck body illustrating additionalnon-stick surfaces along the body floor, body front wall and body sidewall;

FIG. 8 shows all of the non-stick surfaces of the truck body of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top view of any of the truck bodies of FIGS. 1, 5 and 7 andillustrates a taper of the truck body side walls;

FIG. 10 is a top view of any of the truck bodies of FIGS. 1, 5 and 7 andillustrates a shortened length at the sides of the body floor comparedto the center of the body floor;

FIG. 11 illustrates an inlet and outlet of an exhaust manifold extendingthrough a truck body;

FIG. 12 is an isometric view showing a path of the exhaust manifold ofFIG. 11 for warming the non-stick surfaces;

FIG. 13 illustrates another inlet and outlet of an exhaust manifoldextending through a truck body;

FIG. 14 is an isometric view showing a path of the exhaust manifold ofFIG. 13 for warming the non-stick surfaces; and

FIG. 15 is a side view of a truck body positioned on an off-highwaytruck.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-15 illustrate embodiments of a truck body that can efficientlyand effectively haul cohesive materials, in particular oil sands. Theillustrated truck bodies include a number of features that allow theloads being hauled to be dispensed completely and to break down the loadmass as the truck body is dumped. These features include a non-sticksurface bridging one or more of the intersections between the frontwall, floor and sidewalls of the truck body. To enhance theeffectiveness of the non-stick surfaces, at least a portion of thesesurfaces may be heated by an exhaust manifold winding through or aroundthe truck body. The sidewalls of the truck body also taper outward fromthe front wall of the truck body toward the rear. Therefore, as the loadmoves toward the rear body opening as the truck body is dumped, the loadis less likely to stick to the body sidewalls. Moreover, as the load isdumped, the body sidewalls begin to widen with respect to the sides ofthe load as it moves toward the rear body opening. As a result, thesides of the load are no longer supported by the body sidewalls and thesides of the load will begin to break down as the load moves toward therear body opening. This initial breaking down at the sides of the loadfurther promotes the complete breaking down of the load, preventing theload from dumping as a compact loaf. Another feature that promotes thebreaking up of the load is a variation in the length of the truck bodyfloor across the width of the truck body. When the sides of the truckbody floor are shorter than the center, the corners of the load willfall away before the load center reaches the center rear end of thetruck body floor. This breaking down at the corners of the load furtherpromotes overall breaking down of the load and prevents the load fromdispensing as a loaf when the truck body is dumped.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a truck body 2 includes a body floor 4, twosidewalls 6 and a front wall 8. A canopy 10 extends forward from the topof the truck body front wall 8 and is configured to cover the front ofthe corresponding truck chassis, particularly the cab, as shown in FIG.15. The truck body 2 includes a non-stick surface 12 bridging theintersection of the truck body floor 4, one of the truck body sidewalls6 and the front wall 8 of the truck body. It should be understood thatthe intersection of the floor 4, front wall 8 and opposite sidewall 6 isalso bridged by a mirror-image non-stick surface 12. In this context,the term bridging is used to indicate that the non-stick surface extendsfrom one of the truck body components (i.e., floor, sidewall or frontwall) to another. This can be achieved by one or more distinct plateswith a non-stick material that extends across the intersection and abutseach of the corresponding truck body components, as shown in the FIGS. 1and 2, or it can be achieved by a surface section of the truck bodycomponents, near the intersection, being covered with a non-stickmaterial. The use of distinct plates having a non-stick surface may beadvantageous because the distinct plates can cover the intersectionbetween the truck body components, and thus avoid the geometry of asharp edge between two components or a distinct corner between all threecomponents. This is advantageous because sharp edges and corners aremore likely to capture material being hauled and provide a startingpoint for “carryback.”

The term non-stick surface is used herein to encompass hydrophobicsurfaces and/or oleophobic surfaces. The term hydrophobic refers to anysurface, such as treated steel or a painted surface, on which waterbeads are formed when water contacts the surface. A hydrophobic surfaceis exemplified by poor wetting, poor adhesiveness and having a ‘low’free surface energy/adhesion. Relative terms are used to indicate thedegree of hydrophobicity of a material or surface, where surfaces withwater contact angles greater than 90° are called hydrophobic whilesurfaces with water contact angles greater than 150° are calledsuper-hydrophobic. Just as water is repelled by hydrophobic materials,so can oil and petroleum products be repelled by oleophobic andsuper-oleophobic materials or surfaces. The non-stick surface describedherein can be hydrophobic, super-hydrophobic, oleophobic,super-oleophobic or any combination thereof. Various differentconstructions can be used to make the hydrophobic or oleophobicnon-stick surface. For example, prefabricated hydrophobic plates, suchas CRODON® steel plates manufactured by Chromium Corporation of Dallas,Tex., can form the non-stick surface, which is then attached to theexisting components of the truck body 2. Alternatively, coatings can beapplied to the truck body components.

The enlarged view of FIG. 3 shows a non-stick surface 12 that is formedby a plurality of non-stick plates, including a corner plate 14, twoedge plates 16 and an end plate 18. The corner plate 14 bridges threecomponents of the truck body including the floor 4, the sidewall 6 andthe front wall 8. The edge plates 16 are disposed above the corner plate14 and bridge the intersection of the sidewall 6 and the front wall 8 ofthe truck body 2. At the top of the non-stick surface 12, the end plate18 also bridges the intersection of the sidewall 6 and the front wall 8.Each of the plates 14, 16, 18 can abut the neighboring plate such that,in combination, the non-stick plates form a continuous non-stick surface12.

As set forth above, the distinct plates are advantageous because theycan traverse the sharp corners and edges formed by the intersections ofthe truck body floor, sidewalls and front wall. This is particularly thecase if the non-stick plates contact the respective adjacent componentof the truck body at an angle. As an example, the upper edge plate 16show in FIG. 3 contacts each of the sidewall 6 and truck body front wall8 at an approximate angle of around 30° to 45°. Disposing the individualplates 14, 16, 18 at an angle to the truck body components can alsoprovide an additional advantage in that interior space 20 (see FIG. 4)may be formed behind the non-stick surface. As explained in more detailbelow, this interior space can be used as part of an exhaust manifoldfor warming the non-stick surface 12. The space 20 is enclosed towardthe top of the truck body by the end plate 18.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded view with the non-stick surface 12 removed fromthe remainder of the truck body 2. As illustrated, the non-stick surface12 is mounted on structural supports 22 attached to the floor 4,sidewall 6 and/or front wall 8 of the truck body 2. The structuralsupports 22 are advantageous and may be necessary when the loads beinghauled are particularly large, such as with off-highway trucks haulingloads which may be over 100 tons more or less. The edges of thenon-stick surface 12 can also be attached to the underlying component ofthe truck body, for example by welding. For smaller trucks with lighterloads, connection of the edges of the plates of the non-stick surface 12may be all that is needed to mount the non-stick surface 12 on the truckbody 2.

Depending on the cohesiveness of the load being hauled, it may beadvantageous to increase the area of the truck body that is covered by anon-stick surface. Accordingly an additional non-stick surface 30, asshown by the dark-outlined sections of FIG. 5, can be added to the bodybridging the truck body floor 4 and truck body front wall 8. Again, thisadditional non-stick surface 30 can be formed by a non-stick plate thatis attached to the truck body components, or it can be formed bycovering the appropriate area of the truck body with ahydrophobic/oleophobic coating. FIG. 6 illustrates the entire area ofthe truck body 2 that is covered with a non-stick surface, in darkoutline, by using non-stick surface 12 and additional non-stick surface30. As shown, these non-stick surfaces 12 and 30 cover the corners atthe front of the truck body as well as the intersections between thetruck body front wall 8, sidewalls 6, and floor 4.

If desired, the size of the non-stick area can be determinedempirically. This can be very advantageous because the tendency formaterial to stick to the surface of the truck body can depend largely onthe specific characteristics of the material being hauled andenvironmental factors, such as the temperature, where the truck body isbeing used. Thus, the size of the non-stick area of the truck body thatis needed can vary from one work site to another. In order to determinethe size of the non-stick area necessary to avoid carryback, a truckbody can be outfitted with non-stick surfaces 12 that are located in thecorner and vertical intersections of the truck body 2. If it is foundthat a larger non-stick area is needed, the additional non-stick surface30 can be added to the truck body, as in FIGS. 5 and 6. If, afterinclusion of the additional non-stick surface 30, the load is stilladhering to parts of the truck body interior, the size of the non-stickarea can be increased again by adding extended non-stick surfaces 32, asshown by the dark outlined sections in FIG. 7. With the extendednon-stick surfaces 32, the size of the non-stick area covers a largersection of the floor 4 and front wall 8, while still covering thevertical intersections between the sidewalls 6 and front wall 8 and theintersection between the front wall 8 and floor 4, as shown by the darkoutlined sections of FIG. 8. If needed, the size of the non-stick areacan be increased even further, as desired.

While, certain materials and environments may justify a large non-stickarea, there are several reasons that covering the entire interior of thetruck body with a non-stick surface might be considered disadvantageous.First, the manufacture of appropriate hydrophobic or oleophobic surfacesis currently fairly expensive, and thus, limiting the use of thesesurfaces to areas where they are particularly advantageous is desirable.Non-stick surfaces are preferably used wherever the material has atendency to stick to the truck body 2 as described above, and aremainder of the truck body interior is free of a non-stick material. Inparticular, it may be advantageous for the truck body floor 4 andsidewalls 6 to be free of non-stick material toward the rear of thetruck body near the opening. It is conceivable that the entire interiorof the truck body could be covered with a non-stick surface.

A further aid to dispensing the load from the truck body 2 and promotingthe breaking up of the load is illustrated in the top view of the truckbody shown in FIG. 9. As is evident from this drawing, the sidewalls 6of the truck body taper outwardly at an extreme rate. If the structuralcomponents of the sidewalls 6 extend to form portions of the canopy 10,it is possible that the canopy 10 will also taper at a similar rate tothe sidewalls, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

The tapering of the truck body sidewalls 6 results in a width of thetruck body 2 at the open rear end having a distance A′ that isconsiderably larger than the width A of the truck body 2 at the truckbody front wall 8. In one embodiment, the width A′ at the rear of thetruck body is between 10 and 20% greater than the width A at the frontof the truck body. As an example, the increase in width from the frontto the back of the truck body could be about 12%. The length of thetruck body 2 is indicated by two different measurements in FIG. 9. Thelength C is measured from the back edge of the floor 4 to the junctionbetween the front wall 8 and the canopy 10 of the truck body 2. Thelength C′ is measured from the back edge of the floor 4 to the junctionbetween the floor and either the non-stick surface 30 or the front wall8, if the body does not include the non-stick surface. To give anexample of the size of the bodies exemplified by the truck body 2 inFIG. 9, the typical length C is about 25-40 feet. The ratio C/A isapproximately between 1.25 to 1.5. The ratio C′/A is approximatelybetween 0.85 to 1.15.

The extreme outward tapering of the truck body provides severaladvantages while dumping the load that is being hauled. As the bulk ofthe load moves toward the opening at the truck body rear, the sidewalls6 will recede relative to the load, which reduces the tendency of theload to stick to the sidewalls 6. The receding of the sidewalls 6,relative to the load as it moves toward the opening, also effectivelyremoves the supporting surface provided by the sidewalls on the load.Thus, if the load is formed by a very cohesive material, such as oilsands, which has compacted into a single mass, or loaf, the removal ofthe supporting side walls will aid in breaking down the loaf. Withoutthe presence of the sidewalls supporting and holding up the sides of theloaf, sections of the material load will have a tendency to break offfrom the bulk of the load. This initial breaking at the sides of theload loaf can cause a type of chain reaction, where the removal ofsupport on the outer sides of the loaf causes the sides to break down,which removes support from an adjacent layer of material within theloaf, thereby causing it to break, and so on.

The breaking down of the load can also be promoted by a variation in thelength of the body floor 4 across the width of the truck body 2. In FIG.10 the sides of the body floor 4 are raked back at an angle with respectto a central portion of the floor, thereby shortening the length of thesides of the truck body floor 4. Shortening the sides of the truck bodyfloor provides two break points, one on each side of the truck body,which causes the load to break down as the load is dumped. With thetruck body raised to dump the load, the hauled material reaches the edgeof the truck body at the sides of the load earlier than at the center ofthe load. Accordingly, with the support beneath the sides of the loadremoved, the sides of the load break away from the center. This breakingdown of the load at the floor sides further promotes a complete breakingdown of the load as it is dumped, preventing the load from beingdispensed from the truck body in a solid (mass) loaf.

The particular geometry used for the raked sections of the truck bodyfloor can be determined based on any of several characteristics. First,the sides of the body floor should preferably not be shortened so farthat the load capacity of the truck is affected. On the other hand,there is also a limit to which the central portion of the truck bodyfloor can be extended, for example, based on the necessity for adequateground clearance below the rear edge of the truck body floor when thefront end is raised. In an advantageous embodiment, the width of theraked back sections can collectively amount to approximately half of thewidth of the rear end of the truck body floor. For example, in FIG. 10,the combined width of the two raked back sections B″ could be 45 to 60%of the total width B of the rear of the body floor, with a remainder ofthe width forming the central floor portion B′″. In a specific example,the raked back sections combine to make up 50% of the truck body floor.Further, the overall variation in the length of the floor can bedesigned such that the central portion of the truck body floor extends alength B′ past the floor side that is, for example, 10 to 15% of therear width of the truck body floor. In a specific example, the centralportion of the truck body floor extends further than the sides of thetruck body floor by an amount of 11% of the width of the truck bodyfloor.

The configuration of some off-highway trucks allows for engine exhaustgases to flow thru the truck body (a muffler) while on some off-highwaytrucks engine exhaust gases are ported directly to atmosphere. Thecurrent embodiment illustrates engine exhaust gases being ducted intothe truck body, FIGS. 11-14 illustrate two embodiments of truck bodyexhaust manifolds that can be used to further assist dispensing of thecontents of the truck body. If the materials being hauled areparticularly cohesive, or the environment the truck is being used in isparticularly cold, it can be advantageous to warm portions of the truckbody, particularly the non-stick surfaces, to help prevent material loadadhesion to the truck body interior. This can be achieved relativelyeasily, without expending any energy resources, by using the exhaust ofthe truck engine to warm parts of the truck body. However, differenttruck chassis provide the exhaust in different locations. Accordingly,as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, the truck body can include differentembodiments of manifolds configured to receive the exhaust based on theparticular truck being used. From the engine exhaust entrance point intothe truck body, the exhaust can travel through the truck body manifoldto areas in a vicinity of the non-stick surfaces 12. Thus, as shown inFIGS. 12 and 14, the truck body manifold can include the space betweenthe non-stick surfaces and the respective intersections which theycover.

While the use of heat provided by the engine exhaust to warm thenon-stick surfaces can be advantageous, the design of the exhaustmanifold through the truck body should be carefully considered. Inparticular, if the truck body is going to be used in cold environments,it should be ensured that the exhaust manifold is short enough that theexhaust does not cool down within the manifold to the point where it maycondense on the manifold surfaces. The condensation of exhaust gases canlead to observed problems where the sulfur dioxide within the exhaustgases combines with exhaust gas moisture to form sulfuric acid. Once thesulfuric acid pools within the truck body manifold, it can attack themetal surfaces of the truck body and comprise the truck body structuralintegrity. Therefore, it is advantageous if the path of the truck bodymanifold is limited to only areas of particular advantage. For instance,in the embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12, the manifold path is limited tothe areas of intersection of the truck body components, and the manifold40 is kept away from the truck body floor structural components on theunderside of the body floor. Similarly, in the embodiment of FIGS. 13and 14, the exhaust gases are directed by the truck body manifold 40from the point of entry into the truck body immediately to the bodysidewall, where they can travel along the intersections of the bodyfloor with the sidewalls and front. Preferably, the routing of theexhaust gas is above the floor plane. Or it is very limited in itsrouting below the floor plane such as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

In the illustrated embodiments, the plates that form the non-sticksurfaces form the outer wall of the manifold 40, such that the exhaustgas is in direct contact with the structure forming the non-sticksurfaces. However, it is not necessary for the truck body exhaustmanifold to have such direct contact with the non-stick surfaces.Instead, the manifold 40 could be disposed merely in the vicinity of thenon-stick surfaces, which would be advantageous, and the exhaust gas isable to warm the non-stick surfaces. Though it is not absolutelynecessary that the exhaust gases are in contact with the non-sticksurfaces. FIG. 15 shows the truck body in a position of use mounted ontoan off-highway truck 50, which includes a cab 52, a frame 54 and tiresand wheels 56. The truck body 2 is mounted to the frame for rotationabout a pivot point 58.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A truck body for hauling oil sands thatamalgamates into a substantially single mass when hauled, the truck bodycomprising: a body floor for supporting a load of the oil sands andadapted for unevenly removing support of the load of oil sands at anon-linear edge of the floor during dumping of the load of oil sands,thereby acting to break up the single mass; a body front wall forforwardly confining the load of the oil sands; two body sidewalls forlaterally confining the load of the oil sands and adapted to removelateral confinement of the load of the oil sands during its dumping,thereby breaking up the single mass; and at least one non-stick surfacebridging an intersection between the body floor and the body front wallor one of the body sidewalls, thereby covering the entirety of theintersection.
 2. A truck body for hauling material that amalgamates intoa substantially single mass when hauled, the truck body comprising: abody floor for supporting a load of the material and having an edge overwhich the material falls when the body is moved into a dumping position;a body front wall for forwardly confining the load of the material; twobody sidewalls for laterally confining the load of the material; meansfor removing lateral confinement of the load of the material during itsdumping, thereby breaking up the single mass; and means for unevenlyremoving support of the load of material by the body floor at the edgeof the floor during dumping of the load of the material, thereby furtherbreaking up the single mass; and at least one non-stick surface bridgingan intersection between the body floor and the body front wall or one ofthe body sidewalls, thereby covering the entirety of the intersection.3. The truck body of claim 1, wherein the non-stick surface ishydrophobic.
 4. The truck body of claim 1, further comprising an exhaustmanifold disposed in a vicinity of the non-stick surface, the exhaustmanifold being configured to warm the non-stick surface with heat fromengine exhaust gas during operation of a truck on which the truck bodyis mounted.
 5. The truck body of claim 1, wherein the non-linear edge ofthe floor extends beyond the sidewalls most at an area proximate acenter of the floor and least at an area proximate of the sidewalls. 6.The truck body of claim 1, wherein a width of the rear of the truck bodyis up to 15% larger than a width of the front of the truck body.
 7. Thetruck body of claim 1, wherein sides of the truck body floor areshortened such that a central portion of the truck body floor is longerthan the sides of the truck body floor.
 8. The truck body of claim 1,wherein the non-linear edge of the floor results from a length of thetruck body floor varying across a width of the truck body.
 9. The truckbody of claim 8, wherein sides of the truck body floor are shortenedsuch that a central portion of the truck body floor is longer than thesides of the truck body floor.
 10. The truck body of claim 9, wherein awidth of the shortened sides of the truck body floor make up 45% to 60%of the overall width of the truck body floor.
 11. The truck body ofclaim 2, wherein the means for unevenly removing floor support of theload is a non-linear edge at a rear of the truck body floor.
 12. Thetruck body of claim 9, further comprising an exhaust manifold disposedin a vicinity of the at least one non-stick surface and configured towarm the at least one non-stick surface with heat from engine exhaustgas during operation of a truck on which the truck body is mounted. 13.The truck body of claim 2, wherein the means for removing lateralconfinement of the load is a tapering of the sidewalls outwardly fromfront to rear of the body.